“Yesterday I was able to personally verify that two of the access doors of one of the two trains that run alternately, uphill and downhill, were out of service, with a sign affixed to them. This surprised me beyond belief, also considering the fact that not even two years have passed since 22 July 2017, when the important railway system resumed its journeys after a long intervention for the general twenty-year overhaul that involved the renewal and technical adaptation of the entire structure. Intervention that had led to the suspension of the service, starting from 1 August 2016”. Gennaro Capodanno, president of the Comitato Valori collinari e del Trasporto pubblico, once again returns to talk about the many disservices that affect public rail transport in the capital of Naples. “After 355 days of closure – Capodanno recalls –, with a delay of almost 20% on the times originally set for the twenty-year overhaul works, originally indicated as 300 days, an expense of over 7 million euros, at the time there was great expectation on the part of the Neapolitans, with particular attention to the over 28 thousand users who use it on weekdays, for the reopening of the Piazza Fuga facility, announced with great fanfare, complete with an inauguration with the mayor at the head, set for 10:00 on that Saturday 22 July two years ago. In the meantime, numerous controversies had also arisen both for the fact that in order to reopen the Central funicular it had been necessary to suspend the Mergellina funicular runs for the summer period, something that in truth is being repeated again this year, in order to make up for the lack of personnel, caused by the summer holidays, and for the reduced timetable with which the service would resume: runs from 7:00 to 22:00, thus excluding the possibility that the service would continue even after 22:00, as happened before the stoppage”.
“As the chronicles of the time recall – Capodanno points out – after the inauguration, with a race reserved for the authorities and representatives of the media, the management decided to bring forward the opening to the public to 12:00, instead of 12:30, as originally communicated. So the first race left at 12:10. Another mixed race followed and then at 12:30 the direct race. At this point, something happened that no one would have ever imagined – Capodanno points out -. The 12:40 race did not start and the doors to the waiting rooms were closed to the public. The race was therefore cancelled. But the surprises did not end there, because the 12:50 race and the following ones were also cancelled”.
EDITORIAL TEAM
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